


You & Me & All Our Stories

by OnlyJustAMemory



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Peggy Carter is Tony Stark's Godparent, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, still dont know how to tag, well its not explicitly said but basically yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 06:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17259164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyJustAMemory/pseuds/OnlyJustAMemory
Summary: So yeah, growing up, Tony’s feelings for his father were complicated. But that didn’t mean he was entirely alone in his childhood. There were people like his mother and Jarvis, but most importantly, there was Peggy.





	You & Me & All Our Stories

Tony Stark hadn’t had an excellent relationship with his father, that was true. He’d always thought he’d never been good enough for him, the great Howard Stark. It wasn’t like dear ol’ Dad had ever made an effort to look like he cared either. Not once in Tony’s life had he heard Howard say that he loved him, or at the very least that he liked him. 

So yeah, growing up, Tony’s feelings for his father were complicated. But that didn’t mean he was entirely alone in his childhood. There were people like his mother and Jarvis, but most importantly, there was Peggy. 

Margaret Elizabeth “Peggy” Carter, born on April 9, 1921, was known by most of the world. If it wasn’t for being the founder of SHIELD, it was for the title of Captain America’s old flame. But to Tony, she was simply known as Aunt Peggy. 

When no one else was there for him, there was Peggy. The fearless, determined woman who’d made a stand against everyone who’d told her “no”, was also the most kind, compassionate, loving, and gentle person Tony had ever known. He had memories of the time he was almost seven and he’d just built a V8 motorbike engine. His father hadn’t even spared a second glance, but Peggy had been so proud. She’d gushed about his genius to anyone who’d listened, claiming that he was going to be the most brilliant mind of his generation. 

No matter how important Peggy’s job was at SHIELD, she always made room for younger Tony. She’d sit and listen to him ramble on and on about all the mechanics he was working on, watching as he either rebuilt something or put it back together, hands as quick as lighting. Much to the surprise of many people, Peggy wasn’t a complete idiot when it came to science, and so she’d occasionally chime in when the topic changed to chemistry and such, finishing Tony’s sentences and adding her own little ideas (even though she bet the child prodigy already knew everything she was saying). 

They spent as much time as they could together as the years went by, Tony and Aunt Peggy against the world. At least that’s what she would say, whenever he felt angry or alone. She’d come find him (somehow she always knew where he was), and just simply declare, “You and me, Tony and Aunt Peggy against the world.” It wasn’t a grand speech, not really even a speech, but every single time it made him feel better, only if it was by a tiny bit. 

Then everything changed. In December 1991, both of Tony’s parents died in a car crash. He can’t remember exactly how he found out, but he can remember how he felt. 

Tony kept waiting for them to reappear, for them to burst back in and tell him that it had all been a joke. That they were fine, that both of his parents were still alive. Sometimes, he swore he could hear his mother’s laugh or see his father’s stern face watching him. There was anger too, muddled up in that mix of emotions. Anger towards his father, for never having been there for him, for never believing in him. And then anger because for Howard Stark’s final act of disdain towards his son, he goes and abandons him forever with the weight of one of the greatest legacies of all time for Tony to carry on his shoulders. 

Overall, for days, Tony just felt numb. Peggy had tried to call him the second she’d known too, but he’d shut his phone down. She was off somewhere, doing some important business work, so that meant she wasn’t with him and wouldn’t be able to fly to him for at least awhile. In the end, Tony found the best solution was to pretend like it didn’t matter, like nothing mattered. Like he was made of iron and nothing could penetrate the armor he’d built around himself. 

So, Tony inherited Stark Industries. He, along with the help of Obadiah Stane, made billions creating new types of cutting-edge weapons. Stark Industries became one of the most thriving companies on the planet, getting more and more advanced by the second. 

And when Tony wasn’t working on the company? Well, that answer would be obvious to anyone. He’d be drunk at a party or some function, with a girl on his arm, doing his best to avoid all responsibilities. Look up the definition of “playboy” in a dictionary and you’d find a picture of Tony Stark then. He was arrogant, shallow, reckless, self-absorbed, the list could go on and on. 

And Peggy had to watch from afar as the little boy she’d once known to be as bright as the stars, fade away into a sea of darkness. She’d tried to reason with him, tried to get him to come to his senses, but Tony would always brush her off. He’d say he wasn’t a kid anymore, and that he didn’t need some babysitter to watch over his every move. Peggy did the best she could (she was as stubborn as anything after all), but she wasn’t as young as she’d used to be, and keeping up with him was hard. So, she stood on the sidelines, taking in all the horrible things the media said about him, watching as he and the company his father had created grew and grew, hoping and praying that one day he’d listen to her. 

For Tony, everything was okay. Everything was fine. And even getting onto that plane, giving that presentation, and the first while in the convoy vehicle? All good. But after that? That’s when the entire universe came crashing down. 

The times when it was most unbearable, he thought about Peggy. About all the stories she’d told him growing up, of the adventures she’d had during the war and in the SSR. About their own tales, the things they did together before Tony had drifted away. When he was still considerable young, they’d like to play a game called “Spy”. It was a very cliché name, they knew that, but it’s what the game was. One of them would give the other a challenge like “pickpocket something from this person” or “find a way to get all these items without being caught”. If you completed it, you got a point, and if not, then you just had to move on to the next one. Both of them were very good at it, although Tony had his suspicions that sometimes Peggy lost on purpose and gave him easy challenges in the first place.

And even though he tried to focus on the positive, his mind went to the regrets as well. Because if he died in here, he would never get to say he was sorry, never get to apologize for pushing her away ever since his parents death. She’d stood by him, through thick and thin, despite the fact that she had no obligation to do so. And he loved her, so very much, because she’d been part of his family since day one. Didn’t matter that they weren’t blood related, family didn’t have to mean that. Family was who you choose. 

Thinking about these things made it a little easier to not just give up. Because that’s not what Aunt Peggy would do. She’d fight, she’d find a way to get free. And so, repeating her name in his mind whenever he needed hope or courage, Tony escaped. 

Being part of the world again was incredible. But seeing Peggy after all he’d been through? There were no words to describe how that felt. Most of their reunion consisted of him just blabbering, saying how sorry he was, and how right she’d been, and how he promised he was going to make up for it. When Tony had finished, all Peggy had done was smack him on the back of the head and tell him she was glad he’d finally come to his senses. 

To make a long story short, Tony Stark soon became known as Iron Man. And that’s why, he told himself, that he hadn’t noticed the first signs of it. Whenever he was with Peggy, she’d started to forget things, simple things, and he hadn’t thought much of it. He only truly realized what was going on when one day she couldn’t recollect his name. 

Tony didn’t want to admit it. It terrified him, the truth of it. But he knew that just like his parents death, ignoring it wouldn’t make it go away. Peggy had Alzheimer’s. 

He tried to care for her the best he could at first, but it was hard, even with Pepper at his side. He had no idea what he was doing and he could see it was getting worse. So, Tony made one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make. He sent her to a retirement home. 

He’d visited Peggy every day at first. It didn’t matter whether or not she remembered him each time. For the ones that she didn’t, Tony would sit down and explain who he was. Not the whole Iron Man thing, no, the “you and me, Tony and Aunt Peggy against the world” thing. 

While Tony wished he could keep up the visiting schedule he had going, he knew he couldn’t (and probably shouldn’t). So, it became his 3:00 pm Wednesday appointment. And he went, every single week, and didn’t break it for close to two years. Until the Avengers. 

He didn’t know what surprised him more: the fact that aliens existed or the fact that Captain America was somehow still alive. At least the Chitauri were gone. Tony didn’t have to worry about an immediate invasion from beings that came from outer space. But with Steve Rogers...

With Steve Rogers around, it meant that Tony couldn’t go to see Peggy anymore. It was completely irrational, but with the chance that Steve could also be visiting her at the same time, or know about Tony visiting her, it just... it was hard to explain. 

For some stupid reason, he didn’t want Steve to know about how Peggy was basically family. Maybe it was because of his fathers love and admiration of the great Captain America and how Tony had always felt inferior. He’d already had to share part of his father with Steve Rogers, and now he had to do the same with the woman who’d raise him, who he considered to be like a second mother? Tony understood that Steve had known them first, had had them first, but...

Even though Peggy could barely remember him, she did have days were she knew who he was. But if she also knew that Steve Rogers, her long lost love, was back from the dead, it would be obvious who she would rather be with. So Tony would rather let the two have the chance to spend what time Peggy has left together than waste any of it on him. 

But Steve didn’t visit till two years after Avengers (not that Tony was keeping an eye on the situation or anything). He didn’t know how their conversation went, but Tony hoped that Peggy got some happiness out of it, even if it was only temporary. Part of him desperately wished that he could go check up on her, but he wasn’t going to change his mind. This was for the better. 

He knew the day would eventually come, but he still wasn’t ready for it. June 18, 2016, the day in which one of the most brilliant women to ever walk the Earth would pass away. 

It was different than his parent’s death. Tony knew that Peggy had lived a good life, a happy life. There had been so many people that loved her, because she was just the kind of person you loved. She’d helped change the world in so many different ways. Even the little things she’d done had had a big impact. She was a true hero and her legacy would never be forgotten.

But Tony still felt the grief that comes with the death of someone you love. He mourned her with all he had, the woman who had helped shape him into the man he was today. He wished more than anything he could spend one more day with her, just one more day to feel the comfort of her hugs, the soothingness of her voice, the warmth of her smile.

Maybe it was the loneliness or the sadness. Maybe it was the tiredness or the fact he was barely eating. Maybe somehow it was the self-pity he always managed to grab onto, even when it was never about him. But when Tony heard about Peggy’s funeral, he did the dumbest, most stupidest, most foolish thing he had ever done. He didn’t go. Instead, he spent the day in his lab, working relentlessly on his latest project. 

Time passed. Tony didn’t know how much, but probably longer than Pepper would have allowed (she was away on a company meeting). He’d been trying to work on the same project ever since he’d entered the lab, but things just weren’t connecting. All the ideas he’d tried had failed and the weight of the day was beginning to take hold. Anger raced through his veins, and in a moment of pure feeling, Tony grabbed one of the tools he’d been using and hurled it across the room. 

He waited for the sound of the metal to thump against something, and while there was a thump, he could also hear glass shattering. The rage inside of Tony was slightly replaced by worry. He had a few things in the lab that he really didn’t want to be broken because they were either seriously important or seriously dangerous. He hoped that whatever was broken was neither option, because there would be bad consequences for both. 

Taking cautious steps around the workbench he’d been using, Tony headed towards where the sound had come from. He saw the tool first, laying a few inches away from the object that must have been what had broke. 

It was a picture frame on its front, pieces of glass scattered all around it. That got him curious, considering he didn’t keep photos in his lab and never had. Irritation now completely forgotten, Tony bent down to pick the frame up and turned it over. 

He was pretty sure he forgot how to breathe when he saw what was encased within the small structure. There were remaining shards of glass randomly outlining the border, but the photo inside could nevertheless still be seen. 

It was a picture of him and Peggy, a long while back, when Tony was a teenager. It was the day he was graduating from MIT, top of his class, and at the age of seventeen too. His father had shown up at the ceremony only for the good publicity, but Peggy? She’d been there because she truly cared. She’d sat through the entire thing, as long and tedious as it was, and told him how very proud she was of him when they could finally speak to each other at the end. 

Peggy had also shoved the camera she’d been carrying with her into the hands of the nearest person and told them to take a picture of her and Tony, much to the boy’s reluctance. They’d gotten into position, Peggy’s arm wrapped around Tony and pulling him close into her side. 

Tony had been looking at the camera, not wanting to make any kind of expression (still being a rebellious teenager), but being so close to Peggy had made a small smile creep onto his face. Peggy, on the other hand, had had the biggest grin. She was usually very wary and reserved in public, but today that didn’t seem to be the case. 

Just before the camera had clicked, Peggy had moved her head just slightly so she could see the boy she was holding tight. In that moment, her eyes shone with a thousand indescribable emotions. There was so much love in there, combined with pride, admiration, happiness, and most of all hope. Hope that one day Tony would see himself for what he truly was, not a copy of his father, but his own person, and that he too was ultimately going to find a way to revolutionize the world forever.

So the camera went off, with Peggy gazing at Tony with every piece of devotion she had in her heart and with Tony trying to hold back a full-on smile, unconsciously leaning into Peggy like she was his anchor to the world, like she was his home. 

And nothing could be more true. Peggy Carter was his home, and she always had been. A single tear trailed down Tony’s face and he quickly wiped it away. Honestly, what was wrong with him? The famous Tony Stark, Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist, broken down because of one old photo from when he was a kid. He chuckled bitterly and glanced back at the picture frame he still held. He had said that he didn’t keep stuff like this in his labs, but when Peggy had gone to the retirement home, he’d put this in here. It was his favorite image of them, and whenever a project wasn’t working out or he needed a break from reality, Tony would look at it and just remember. Remember the amazing Peggy Carter, and how she’d guided him through life, through all the ups and downs. How she’d always been there for him, no matter how badly he’d screwed up. And then for the past couple of years, Tony had just gone and abandoned her. It didn’t matter whether or not she remembered, she was still his Aunt Peggy. And then on the day it mattered the most, he hadn’t even bothered to turn up and say his goodbyes. 

Taking a deep breath, Tony gently placed the picture frame on the side. Berating himself right now wouldn’t do any good. There were more important matters at hand. 

Within the next ten minutes, Tony had already found out where Peggy had been buried (apparently he really had been working for that long) and was on the move, his suit going at maximum speed. Every second that passed as he shot through the skies seemed to be too long until he finally arrived at the gravesite. He hovered in the air for a minute, trying to located which gravestone belonged to Peggy, when he spotted one that he immediately knew was hers. It wasn’t extravagant or fancy or really big, nothing like you’d except for someone who was as important as her to have. In reality, it was just like any other grave in the vicinity. What gave it away was the amount of flowers surrounding the headstone. Sure, others had some as well, but Peggy’s was utterly swarmed by flowers of all varieties. 

Tony, not having paid attention to anything but Peggy’s grave, landed and stepped out of the suit. He practically dashed towards the headstone, all other thoughts pushed out of his mind. He was so very close, when a hand latched around his forearm, yanking him back. 

Tony whirled around, ready to fight off an attacker, but was stunned to instead find a fuming Steve Rogers. 

“Stark? What are you doing here?” All usual courtesies gone, Rogers seemed completely furious. “I get that we may be disagreeing on the Accords, but coming here? To Peggy’s grave? That’s a seriously jerk move, even for you.”

Panic dominated Tony’s body. He’d been so focused on Peggy, that he hadn’t even considered that Steve would be here. All those stupid fears that had to do with his father, and Steve, and Peggy, they began to rattle around in his mind, not letting him forget for a second that they were there. They consumed him, they weighed down on his chest, he couldn’t breathe... 

No... NO. Tony was not going to let them control him. They would not dictate his life anymore. He’d listened to them for long enough. It was time he gave his heart a chance to speak. 

Raising his head high, Tony said, “You aren’t the only one who was close to her, Rogers.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve never even met her.”

At that, Tony actually let out a laugh. “My father and her were close friends and worked together all the way until he died. You really think that I didn’t know her?”

“I-” Steve began, but Tony cut him off. 

“I’m not done. I can’t count the number of times I’ve said this, but Peggy Carter is one of the most brilliant human beings I have ever had the pleasure of being around. She was the one who practically raised me, from when I couldn’t even walk to the point where she couldn’t take care of herself anymore. I called her Aunt Peggy, you know, and she used to have a saying for us: “You and me, Tony and Aunt Peggy against the world.” She was there for me, despite when I pushed her away, time and time again. Thinking about her was what got me through so much and it still keeps me going, even today, knowing that she would want me to be the very best man I could be.”

“Then why didn’t you visit her at the retirement home at all? Why weren’t you at her funeral?” Steve questioned harshly. 

Tony held back a snort. Of course Steve would choose to ignore all the deep and heartfelt things he’d just said, and ask about the why’s. To be fair, they were decent questions. 

“It’s hard to explain.” Tony sighed. He knew he didn’t have to tell Steve anything, but it felt like he needed to. Because that’s what Peggy would have wanted. “I did visit her at the retirement home, every single week, until you came along. And yes, I know, it’s stupid, but I stopped because you were back. And I didn’t want you to know about how Peggy was my family, because she is, she’s family. So I watched from afar, drowning in self-pity, until I heard about her death. That sunk me all the way to the bottom, and when I saw the date for her funeral, I still didn’t manage to get my act together. Classic Tony Stark, eh?”

The anger on Steve’s face had depleted almost entirely. He seemed to actually be listening to what Tony was saying now, not just making accusations. 

“But why didn’t you want me to know?” Rogers asked. 

Tony forced a smile onto his face. “I’ll tell you some other day, okay?” He glanced at Peggy’s grave. “Do you mind giving me some time alone with her?”

Steve looked hesitant to do so, but after a second, nodded. Tony waited until he’d disappeared out of sight before turning towards the headstone.

He knelt down in the dirt and gently traced over the letters inscribed in the granite. It stated “Margaret Elizabeth ‘Peggy’ Carter”, and underneath that was “April 9, 1921 - June 18, 2016”. At the very bottom, the last part of the epitaph but most certainly not the least important, it read “The woman who never gave in, even when everyone else told her no. The woman who always did what she believed was right, loyal till the very end. The woman who started a movement that no one will ever forget”. 

Tony couldn’t have put it better himself. He’d feared that whoever made the gravestone would’ve messed it up, put some cliché message that didn’t at all represent who Peggy was. But it was fine, great in fact, and knowing that this would be what people saw when they came to remember Peggy, made him feel content. 

Now came the part why he was here in the first place. Tony placed his hands on his knees and stared at the gravestone. He waited, not quite sure what for, but eventually the words began to tumble out of his mouth. 

“Hey Aunt Peggy,” Tony murmured, fiddling with his thumbs. “I’m here because I wanted to— God, this feels stupid.” 

Tony mockingly laughed, shaking his head. He really did feel like an idiot, talking to nothing. This wasn’t Peggy, Peggy was dead. He’d wasted the last few years he could have had with her. 

He was a second away from getting up and leaving, when something inside stopped him. There was a little tiny voice in Tony’s head that was telling him that this was the closest thing he was ever going to get to talking to Peggy. It may feel foolish, but there was no one else around. He should at least try. 

Taking a few seconds to collect himself, Tony focused his attention back on Peggy’s grave. This time, he didn’t think. He just talked. 

“I don’t know if you can hear me, Aunt Peggy,” Tony said. “You know I’ve never been the religious type, but with all the aliens and Norse gods and superhero stuff, I’m not gonna say it’s entirely impossible for you to be able to. There are so many things I want to say, so many things I wish I could have told you before you died, but I was an idiot and a coward. And I am so, so, so sorry for that.”

He let out a long exhale and continued. “I didn’t come visit you back at the retirement home for the last couple of years because... because Steve was back. And you loved Steve so, so very much. And so did my dad. But growing up it always felt like I was second best compared to Steve? So when he came back, I just... I just didn’t want to be looked at as second best in your eyes either.”

Tears had begun to well up in Tony’s eyes and he did his best to keep them at bay. “I know that I’m technically the superhero, being Iron Man and all that, but you’ve always been my hero. My inspiration. And at the times when it gets so bad it feels like I can’t go on, you’re what makes it easier to not just give up. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve thought, “do it for Peggy” or “this is what Peggy would do”. Cause you’ve always helped me get back up again, even when most people would have left along time ago. You accepted me, for all my flaws, for all my failures, you were there.”

The tears were freely flowing now, trailing down Tony’s face in streams. He didn’t bother to wipe them away, too wrapped up in what he was saying. 

“Remember what you used to say? “You and me, Tony and Aunt Peggy against the world”? I wish I’d listened to that more often. I wish I’d replayed that in my head at least once during those years when I didn’t come see you. And I wish that I’d remembered it when I’d heard about your funeral. Maybe if I had done those things, I’d have been able to say goodbye to you properly.”

He closed his eyes and tried not to take notice of the fact that his hands were shaking. It was probably just the cold, he told himself. The imaginary cold. 

“I’m Iron Man,” Tony went on. “I save people, that’s what I do. So, why couldn’t I save you?”

He stayed silent for awhile, just letting himself softly cry. It was peaceful, the silence. His head felt less of a mess as well, which was a benefit. 

Eventually, after his hands were steady again (the tears still wouldn’t stop), Tony let the final piece of his heart speak. 

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes when it comes to me and you. The last years of your life you didn’t see me at all, which still mattered even if you weren’t able to remember me. But I swear I’m going to be better. I’m going to fight for what I believe in. And I promise I’m going to do whatever I can to keep this world safe, because that’s what you would have done. And know that I love you, I always have, despite what my actions may have shown. You were family before I even knew what the definition of the word meant. I hope, that if you are listening somewhere, somehow, that you understand that I’m the man I am today because of you.”

And maybe, if it were possible, Tony would have seen Peggy Carter herself standing over him, her hand on his shoulder. And if it were feasible, he would have known she’d been listening to him from the very start. And if there was any chance on Earth that such a thing was achievable, then Tony would know that Peggy was crying along with him.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first Marvel fanfic and I’m really pleased with how it turned out? This is something I’ve wanted to write for FOREVER because it could have totally been canon. I expected it to only be like, 1500 words tho and it’s almost 5000? I guess I’m just incredibly passionate about these two characters. And I know I didn’t mention Jarvis like at all and he totally would have been there rocking it beside Peggy but this fic was just about Tony and his relationship with Peggy. Anyways, I hope my writing didn’t suck too badly and that you enjoyed it!


End file.
